Protector for the bottoms of shoes.



J. BUcKIfBY. PROTECTOR FOB THE BOTTOMS 0F SHOES. Y.

APPLIUATION FILED JUNE 20, 1910.

991,046. Patented Mayz, 1911.

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JOI-IN BUCKLEY, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

PROTECTOR FOR THE BOTTOMS OF SHOES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1911.

Application led .Tune 20, 1910. Serial No. 567,764.

T0 all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, Jol-IN BUCKLEY, residing at Lynn, in the countyof Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Protectors for the Bottoms of Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in protectors for the bottoms of shoes, and more particularly to devices which are adapted to be inserted in the top-lift of the heel, or in the sole, so as to have the wearing surfaces flush with the surfaces thereof. In devices of this character it is desirable to provide a securing means which enables the device to be securely attached to the shoe in the regular operation of manufacturing the shoes, without increased expense, and which will not detract from the appearance of the shoe when finished.

The objects of my invention are to provide a means for securely attaching a piece of solid metal, or a suitable substance which is adapted to withstand wear more effectively than leather, in a toplift or sole fiush with the surface thereof, and which when applied to a top-lift may be placed in position in the lift before it is attached to the heel and permits the lift to be thereafter attached in a heel nailing machine. I accomplish these objects by providing a flanged shell or"cup which is adapted to be stamped out of sheet metal and to be inserted in a top-lift or sole, so that it will be secured in place by the engagement of t-he flange on the inner side thereof, said shell being adapted to be filled with solid metal, or some suitable wearresisting' composition and to hold the same until it is almost completely worn away.

For a more complete understanding of my invention reference is made to the accompanying drawing in which Figures l and 2 are pla-n views of the opposite sides of a top-lift provided with my invention. Fig. 3 is a central sectional view of a heel showing the application of the top-lift thereto. Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a metal-holding shell made according' to my invention. Fig. 5 is a similar view showing al shell filled and ready to be inserted. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the metal plug adapted to be inserted in the shell. Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a top-lift showing a modified form of my invention. Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail view illustrating the same modification. Figs.

9 and l0 are detail sectional views illustrating another modification of my invention, Fig. l0 being a sectional view on lines 10h10 of Fig. 9.

In carrying out a preferred form of my invention I provide a shell or cup a, which is adapted to be stamped out of sheet metal and is preferably of nearly cylindrical form, tapering slightly from the open end. Said shell is provided with a flange a at its open end and the entire height thereof is approximately the same as the thickness of the sole or top-lift to which it is to be applied.

Z) indicates a. metal plug, preferably of soft steel, which is preferably made to correspond to the taper of the shell a, and is adapted to be fitted therein, so as to fill the same completely, without protruding therefrom.

According to my invention, in preparing the top-lift for the reception of the protector, I punch, or otherwise cut one or more holes in the places in the top-lift at which the protector is to be inserted, said holes being of the same diameter as the external diameter of the shells a, and I then insert said shells, in which the plugs have preferably been previously inserted, in said holes from the inner side of the top-lift, so that the flange a bears against the inner surface thereof, as shown in Figs. l, 3, and 7. Inasmuch as the shell is stamped out of thin sheet metal, the flange a is necessarily so thin that it may be easily pressed into the leather, as shown in Fig. 3, and will not tend to cause any separation of the lifts. It will be apparent that when the top-lift is secured in place on the heel t-he shell will be securely held in position therein by the flange, as shown in Fig. 3, and when the exposed end of the shell wears away, the tapering sides of the shell will hold the plug Z) in place therein.

I may provide, in lieu of the metal plug t, a filling c, which preferably consists of a self-hardening, water-proof composition, which is thoroughly impregnated with small particles of metal, or metal chips, so that, in use, when the end of the shell wears away, the surface which will then be exposed will resist wear more eectively than the leather and will also provide a frictional surface which will prevent slipping more eectively than' the soft steel plug before described. In practice the composition, when in a soft state, will be placed in the shells, before the shells are inserted in the lifts and will subsequently become hard.

Figs. 9 and 10 show another modified form of my invention in which the shell Z is tapered only to an extent necessary to enable it to be formed with a die and is provided with one or more longitudinal corrugations CZ which reduce the internal diameter of the shell so that it is slightly less than the diamwhen they are to be used in the heel of a shoe, at any convenient time previous to the operation of attaching the same in a heel nailing machine, the frictional engagement of the shells with the leather being sufficient to hold them in place. The protectors will also be preferably arranged in the lift so that they will not be struck by the heel nails when the lift is spanked on, although the metal plug, when forced onto a nail, would merely drive the nail in farther.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. A shoe-bottom protector comprising a sheet metal cup closed at one end, having an outwardly-turned retaining iiange at its open end and constructed to be inserted in the outer layer of leather so-that its closed end is exposed and approximately flush with the surface thereof and to be held in place therein by the engagement of said flange with the inner side thereof, and a wear-resisting substance contained in said cup and completely filling the same and disposed to be engaged by the sides thereof and to be retained therein to receive the wear when the end or bottom of the cup has been worn away, substantially as described.

2. A shoe-bottom protector comprising a sheet metal cup having an outwardly turned flange at its open end and a solid metal plug fitted in` and completely filling said cup, said plug being engaged by the sides of the cup to hold the same in position to receive the wear when the closed end ofthe cup has been worn away, substantially as described.

3. A shoe-bottom protector comprising a sheet metal cup having an outwardly turned retaining flange at its edge and longitudinal corrugations in its sides, anda metal plug fitted in said cup and having its sides engaged by said corrugations to retain the same in position therein, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN BUCKLEY.

Vitnesses:

L. H. I-IARRIMAN, H. B. DAVIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, G. 

